The LOIFF 2017

Roberto Jabor

Director/Screenwriter/Producer

Roberto started out with his first Horror Short Film “Herdeiros do Solar the Usher” (1988), based on Edgar Allan Poe’s novel “Fall of the House of Usher”, is part of the book “80’s The Gold Decade Of The Horror Movie” 2011, written by Matteo Tortora. He directed two successful TV Series for Globo TV in Brazil, and became Artistic Director for the Cisneros TV Group in Miami. He’s received many awards for his filmmaking both in Brazil and abroad. Roberto takes much of his inspiration from fantastic and classic horror narratives. His short films bring to mind Edgar Allan Poe, Guy de Maupassant, André Gide. He specializes in using every facet of film production — from lighting to art direction and soundtrack — to create a signature dark style far from the mainstream. His work has been compared to John Waters, Paul Morrissey and Pedro Almodovar. He’s developed several co-productions for the US in English language. The Movie “RGB”, Official Selection at the 2005 New York Independent Film Festival, was a collaboration with directors in Brazil, Thailand and Croatia produced by Unique Entertainment. Director of “The Meeting” an English-spoken short film, a co-production Brazil/US. Official Selection at Los Angeles Brazilian Film Festival 2010, LA; 10th DeadCenter Film Festival 2010, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. 2011, Director and Producer of “Noturno”. Jabor’s last Feature Film “Anima Sola” (director/producer/writer) has been awarded and officially selected for many festivals in the US, Canada, Europe, Asia and Australia.

Brian Ratigan

Brian Ratigan is an award-winning animator and director whose experimental films and animations have screened internationally. He serves as Director of Animation for Kumar Pictures and co-founded Atlanta production company Sugartooth Group. Ratigan is the founder of the experimental label Non Films and is based in New York City.

Nawa Bijaya Shrestha

Nawa Bijaya Shrestha is a young director, filmmaker and
photographer of Nepalese origin. Trained in the only professional film
school in Nepal and still in the early stage of his career, Nawa has
already gained nationwide recognition through his numerous awardwinning
short films and photography works. In 2015, he directed “The
Magic Trang”, a short film that has won the Outstanding Presentation
Award in the annual Thailand International Film Destination Festival.
Another directorial effort from him, “ek soch…”, has won the Public
Choice Award in a national competition organized by Interface Nepal.
Many of his other film and photography works have been also selected
and awarded by major national events including the celebrated
Kathmandu International Mountain Film Festival.
In 2014, Mr. Shrestha joined Robert Lin in the world premiere of his
English language play “A Night with MAO” in Kathmandu, and the
following presentation at the international theatre festival in West
Bengal, India. As an assistant director, stage manager and lead actor, he
has contributed a great deal to the successful run of the play with his
vision and professionalism.
Mr. Shrestha is currently residing in Kathmandu, Nepal, and continues
his work on numerous new projects.

Melissa De Leon

Melissa De Leon is an independent filmmaker based in the East Coast who earned a degree in Film and Media Arts from Temple University. She had a lot of things she wanted to study as she was growing up, including forensic psychology, but she finally decided to study film in college the summer before beginning her senior year in high school.

She began producing in 2010, starting with a senior thesis project called The Journey. Originally she had only been interested in directing, but after taking a producing class, she became interested in producing as well. Now she has produced 7 projects, including Therapy, which won The Viewers’ Choice Award from Xfinity OnDemand, won an Honorable Mention from Bucks Fever FilmFest, and is still being shown in film festivals.

She is currently producing A Bird Without Wings and is developing a web series called Lies by Omission.

Engin Poyraz

The director was born in Akhisar, Manisa in November 1987. A postgraduate, Poyraz also engages in Expert Training in the field of administrative sciences and law, photography and songwriting.

His filmography:
-Constant (2014) as actor, director, screenwriter and producer.
-Node (2015) as director, screenwriter and producer
-Lütfi (2016) as co-producer and editor

Bianca Howell

Bianca Howell is an Italian/American animator and a recent graduate of London’s Central Saint Martins, where she achieved a Masters Degree in Character Animation.
She has directed and animated two short films, and has worked in a team on a third one. Her film “Resilience” has obtained numerous festival nominations around the world.

Her hobbies include learning new languages, science fiction novels and playing the violin.

Carlo Perassi

His previous shorts have been admitted to many festivals, among the international and national ones (Option, Hospĕs, Mēkhanē and Déjà Vu).